NEWS

The Arc for the River Valley to host car show at Central Mall on Saturday

Abbi Ross
Fort Smith Times Record

The Central Mall parking lot in Fort Smith will be transformed into a car show with vehicles of all types Saturday morning. 

Cars, trucks and motorcycles lined up for the 2019 Spark for The Arc car show fundraiser in Alma. The 2020 show was canceled because of the pandemic.

Spark for The Arc, will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in front of the former Sears store in the mall parking lot benefiting Arc for the River Valley.

“We’re expecting to see a lot of growth,” said Francy Ford, The Arc for the River Valley executive director.

This year's event will take place in Fort Smith for the first time. The event was canceled in 2020 because of the pandemic.

The Arc for the River Valley, a local non-profit, provides advocacy, education and recreation for those with intellectual and developmental disabilities in the region, according to their website. It serves more than 450 members in the River Valley and parts of Oklahoma and is a chapter of The Arc for the United States.

The last show held in Alma in 2019 brought more than 100 cars and raise about $6,000, Ford said.

Membership costs $15 a year and gives participants access to all that Arc for the River Valley offers. Membership to Arc for the River Valley costs $15 a year and gives participants access to activities including movie showings, bowling nights, dances and cooking classes.

“We’re a small agency, but we serve a lot of people,” Ford said. 

The members are the reason for the fundraiser, said Jim McCallister, a classic car collector and former board member for the organization.

"It gives our members a safe place to go and hang out," McCallister said.

When they were young and in school they had a place to gather and be with people their own age, he said. As they grew up they lost that, but the Arc gives them that place again.

Around 20 people have already signed up for the show, but Ford expects that a lot of people will sign up Saturday. 

Classic cars, trucks and motorcycles are in the lineup. 

The winner of the 2019 car show is featured on this year's poster for the fundraiser.

"We take the winner of the overall best of the show, and we take that vehicle and that then becomes the artwork for t-shirts and the posters for the next car show," Ford said.

The “Best in Show” winner for the 2019 Spark for the Arc car show fundraiser.

A local artist turns the winning car into a painting that is used for merchandise and advertising.

The fundraiser is also an opportunity for the Arc for the River Valley to connect with people in the region in a comfortable, more wholesome way, McCallister said. The nonprofits formerly held a dinner event that did not take off, he said.

"This is a good hometown way of doing it," McCallister said.

Pre-registration for the event is $20 and the day of registration is $25. For information, call 479-783-5529. 

Abbi Ross is the city reporter at the Southwest Times Record. She can be reached at aross@swtimes or on Twitter at @__AbbiRoss